Waave, an open banking payment technology provider, has joined forces with payments solution provider Quest Payment Systems (Quest), as well as retail pharmacy group, Chemist Warehouse, to introduce a new open banking checkout option across Chemist’s 500 stores across Australia.
Waave enables customers to pay directly from their bank account in real-time with ‘Pay by Bank’, the open banking-powered payment method.
Pay by Bank by-passes payment scheme fees, reducing payment costs for merchants and is accepted by all Australian banks. It provides greater security through Waave’s Consumer Data Right accreditation governed by the ACCC. Pay by Bank has already been introduced by various retailers online including Barbeques Galore.
Quest, the payment solutions and terminal provider for Chemist Warehouse stores, has joined forces with Waave to introduce the Pay by Bank solution as a QR-code scan alternative at the checkout, in addition to an online checkout option.
QR codes enable shoppers to simply scan the code on the terminal and authorise the payment. They do not require a physical bank card, a specific app, or a digital wallet on their device. The Pay by Bank wallet can hold multiple bank accounts and will show the customer their bank balance in real time before authorising the purchase.
‘This is a big moment for open banking in Australia’
Ben Zyl, co-founder and CEO of Waave, explained: “This is a big moment for open banking in Australia. To see an option at the terminal that directly connects to your bank and doesn’t come with any of the additional fees and risks of cards is the beginning of a payments revolution.
“We are so excited to see the first multi-channel Pay by Bank experience, and to be doing it with one of the country’s most successful retailers is a huge milestone.”
Jack Gance, founder of Chemist Warehouse, also added: “Digital payments now make up most customer transactions. We’re a low-margin business, so that comes with significant costs. We are honoured to work with Quest to become the first company to introduce Waave’s Pay by Bank as a multi-channel checkout option. Their proposition of low fees with no scheme fee and no bank fee is huge – what you see is what you get. It’s bringing necessary competition to the market.”
Jan Mason, CEO of Quest, said: “We are proud to support our customer, Chemist Warehouse, and its continuous innovation to enable its customers to pay the way they want. We are pleased to work with Waave on this Australian first initiative to give customers a new and exciting way to pay.
“Our collaboration with Waave uses Chemist Warehouse’s existing payment terminal and doesn’t require any change to the Point of Sale integration. We also look forward to supporting Chemist Warehouse as Waave Pay by Bank is rolled out across the Chemist Warehouse’s store network and delivering more customer choice and competition in payments.”
